World title picture muddied after good Sacrifice

Sacrifice has finally arrived. After a disappointing Lockdown PPV, TNA has some serious making up to do. With a stacked lineup once again on tap, will TNA be able to deliver, or will their downward spiral continue? Read the report and find out.

The main event stage was set, the confident champion, “Captain Charisma” Christian Cage strutted down the aisle and entered the ring. Across from him stood his challengers, the bitter enemies, Sting and Kurt Angle. After some early jawjacking, Sting and Angle realized that Cage was trying to play games with them. This didn’t sit well with either individual as they immediately began beating down the champ. The match itself was pretty good, with each star getting tossed to the outside, allowing the other two to do battle in the ring. At one point, Angle was able to hit eight consecutive German Suplexes on Cage for a near fall that was broken up by Sting. Sting then went for the cover, but Cage was able to kick out. Cage and Angle went at it some more, with Cage getting crotched on the top rope. Sting then sent Angle head first into the groin area of Cage, bending Cage over and presenting Sting with the opportunity to hit a Double Stinger Splash. Sting then planted Angle with a Scorpion Deathdrop. Sting had the win, until Cage pulled referee Rudy Charles out. This gave Angle a chance to gather his bearings and apply the Ankle Lock on Sting. Cage came in to break it up and was placed with Sting in a double Ankle Lock. Cage and Sting rolled through, sending Angle to the floor. Sting revived Rudy Charles and was caught from behind with a low blow by Cage. Cage then went for the Unprettier, but was rolled up. Angle came in and put Sting in the Ankle Lock as he was rolling up Cage. Another ref, Andrew Thomas, came down and saw Sting tap as Charles counted Cage’s shoulders down for a third time. In the end, Angle was declared the NWA Heavyweight Champion as Sacrifice came to a confusing end. (Expect some clarification at the Impact tapings, including the NWA World title being replaced by a TNA World title, and a new champ likely determined at the next PPV.)

TNA Sacrifice PPV Report

The PPV began with a nice hype package.

Match One – Triple Threat X Division Championship Match – Chris Sabin (C) vs. “Black Machismo” Jay Lethal vs. Sonjay Dutt

This was a great way to open the PPV. Lethal and Dutt showed some dissention throughout, breaking up each other’s pinfall attempts. The Lethal Combination and Elbow Drop both connected, but on neither occasion could Lethal score the win. On one attempt, Dutt came off the top with a 450, crushing both stars. The end came when Dutt and Lethal continued to argue and Sabin pushed Dutt into Lethal, rolling him up and hooking the tights for the win. Afterwards, Lethal and Dutt argued some more and began brawling until Kevin Nash came out and broke them up. As Nash had his back turned, Dutt came from behind and kicked out his leg and stormed off.

Winner Via Pinfall and STILL X Division Champion – Chris Sabin

Match Rating – 7/10

In the back, Jeremy Borash caught up with Robert Roode and Ms. Brooks. Roode said that Eric Young was told to stay home. Roode continued by saying that he owns Eric Young and that after Sacrifice he would own Jeff Jarrett. Back at ringside, Kevin Nash grabbed the mic and said that he was going to take out Dutt on Impact. Mike Tenay and Don West then pitched it to a clip of Damaja and Basham attacking VKM outside the Impact Zone. BG James was dropped on his head, thus sending him to the hospital with a concussion. A package was shown highlighting the Robert Roode/Jeff Jarrett feud, leading to…

Match Two – Robert Roode w/ Ms. Brooks vs. Jeff Jarrett

This was another entertaining encounter, making this PPV already better than Lockdown. Roode was the aggressor in this one, sending Jarrett to the outside and into the guardrails. Ms. Brooks tried to interject herself into the match, but was eventually thrown out. While the ref was distracted, Roode cracked Jarrett with a pair of handcuffs, scoring only a two count. Some more back and forth action ensued, with Jarrett getting sent into an exposed turnbuckle, leaving him prone to the Northern Lights Suplex. Afterwards, Roode grabbed the mic and promised to lay Jarrett out like he did to Eric Young. Jarrett grabbed Roode and locked on the Figure Four, Ms. Brooks came from behind and went to whack Jarrett with the guitar, but she was stopped by Eric Young who put her in a figure four of his own. Jarrett and Young then celebrated as Roode and Brooks ran off.

Winner Via Pinfall – Robert Roode

Match Rating – 7/10

In the back, Leticia Cline was with Christian Cage, Scott Steiner and AJ Styles, who were having an early victory party. Steiner complained about Tomko not being there yet and said that he would hold Cage responsible if Tomko screwed up. Styles then talked a bit about how he wasn’t afraid of Samoa Joe because he had back up. Cage and Steiner went back and forth a bit, with Cage taking off and Styles following hot on his trail.

Match Three – Christopher Daniels vs. Rhino

This was a decent match, with Daniels doing everything in his power to avoid the Gore. Rhino kept bringing the fight to Daniels, sending him to the floor. While on the floor, Daniels grabbed his bat and took a swing at Rhino’s head, knocking out “The War Machine” and picking up the big victory. After the match, Rhino grabbed the mic and said he wasn’t going to leave like that. He chased down Daniels and caught him backstage, busting him open with a chair shot. He continued to beat down Daniels, setting up two chairs and attempting to piledrive Daniels through them off the second rope, before security came in and broke things up.

Winner Via Pinfall – Christopher Daniels

Match Rating – 5/10

A package was shown highlighting the saga between VKM and Christy Hemme. Jeremy Borash caught up with Kip James, reminding Kip that BG James was in the hospital and Lance Hoyt had his flight delayed. Kip said that he wasn’t going to let Damaja and Basham get away with what they did and promised to get revenge on Christy Hemme.

Match Four – Handicap Match – Damaja and Basham w/ Christy Hemme vs. Kip James

Damaja and Basham look nothing like a team anymore, very disappointing. They basically looked thrown together. The double team effort proved to be too much for Kip James who was eventually put away with the Brain Damage. Afterwards, Christy Hemme came and got her licks in until Lance Hoyt ran down and made the save.

Winners Via Pinfall – Damaja and Basham

Match Rating – 5/10

A package was shown, highlighting the history between Chris Harris and James Storm. Leticia Cline caught up with Chris Harris who was wearing an AMW T-Shirt. He said that he already gave Storm a taste of revenge, but in the Texas Death Match, he was going to exact payback.

Match Five – Texas Death Match – James Storm w/ Jackie Moore vs. Chris Harris

This was an excellent encounter. The two brawled all throughout the Impact Zone. At one point, Harris hit a suicide dive from the top rope, over the guardrail, into the front row, taking out Storm and two security guards. Harris made the cover and got the pin, but Storm was able to answer at the count of eight. Storm fought back and got Harris tied up in the ropes, before busting him open with a chair shot. Harris returned the favor, by slingshoting Storm into the metal bottom of a table. Jackie Moore tried getting involved, but she was stopped and brought to the back by Gail Kim. Storm was able to set the table back up and hit the Eye of the Storm on Harris through the table for the three count, however, Harris was able to reach a vertical base at the count of nine. Both stars grabbed beer bottles, but it was Harris who struck first, knocking out Storm and picking up the win.

Winner Via Pinfall and Knock Out – Chris Harris

Match Rating – 8/10

In the back, Sting was shown yelling at Christopher Daniels. Daniels said he listened to Sting and walked off. Sting then cut a promo, basically saying that he was going to capture the NWA Heavyweight Championship. Back at ringside, Mike Tenay and Don West watched the ring crew clean up, saying that Harris finally got his revenge.

Match Six – Fatal Four Way – Jerry Lynn vs. Tiger Mask vs. Alex Shelley vs. Senshi

This was a pretty solid match, Tiger Mask looked good. All four X stars got in there with one another. Lots of reversals and near falls. The end came when Senshi and Tiger Mask were sent to the outside. Shelley hit the huricanrana on Lynn who rolled through and pinned Shelley. Afterwards, Shelley attacked him. Chris Sabin came in and joined in on the beatdown until Mr. Backlund made the save.

Winner Via Pinfall – Jerry Lynn

Match Rating – 6/10

A package was shown highlighting the rise of Team 3D. In the back, Leticia Cline asked Tomko why he wasn’t with Scott Steiner. Tomko called Steiner an idiot and seemed pissed that he was teaming with him. Tomko said he had some business he was taking care of, but he would be out there with Steiner to win the tag belts.

Match Seven – Triple Threat NWA Tag Team Championship Match – Team 3D (Brother Ray and Brother Devon) (C) vs. LAX (Homicide and Hernandez) w/ Konnan vs. Scott Steiner and Tomko

This was just an all out brawl. Lots of double teaming and cheating going on. LAX and Team 3D continued their ongoing battle, while Tomko and Steiner looked as though they couldn’t get on the same page. This was more evident than ever when Tomko went to boot Devon, but caught Steiner, knocking him out of the ring. Tomko turned around and caught a 3D, allowing Team 3D to retain the straps. After the match, Rick Steiner came down and took out Tomko. The Steiner Brothers are back. Looks like Steiners vs. Cage and Tomko is coming up huh?

Winners Via Pinfall and STILL NWA Tag Team Champions – Team 3D (Brother Ray and Brother Devon)

Match Rating – 6/10

In the Sting promo area, Jeremy Borash found Kurt Angle. Angle said that he might be a gym teacher, but Sting was a clown. He said there was nothing special about Sting and he was going to prove it. Awesome promo. They showed a package hyping Samoa Joe and AJ Styles, leading to…

Match Eight – Samoa Joe vs. AJ Styles

Another good encounter for these two competitors. Styles tried playing off that he was injured, but Joe wanted none of it. At one point, Joe was sent to the floor hard and it appeared as though his leg gave out. Joe hobbled back into the ring and Styles tried going to work on him, but Joe kept kicking him away. Styles thought he had it in the bag and went up top, only for Joe to move out the way and show he wasn’t hurt at all. He locked in the rear naked choke and suplexed Styles out of it for the win.

Winner Via Pinfall – Samoa Joe

Match Rating – 7/10

They did the tale of the tape and the hype package for Christian Cage vs. Kurt Angle vs. Sting.

Match Nine – Triple Threat NWA Heavyweight Championship Match – Christian Cage (C) vs. Kurt Angle vs. Sting

Winner Via Submission and NEW NWA Heavyweight Champion – Kurt Angle

Match Rating – 7/10

Overall Event Rating – 7/10